ICJ rules against provisional measures for Germany, case not thrown out

 The International Court of Justice ruled 15-1 on Tuesday against handing down provisional measures in Nicaragua's case against Germany accusing it of providing weapons to Israel under the risk of its military aid being used to commit genocide against Palestinians.

"The circumstances as they now present themselves to the court are not such as to require the exercise of [the court's] power under Article 41 of the statute to indicate provisional measures," the ICJ's presiding Judge Nawaf Salam declared.

Judge Salam referenced the various rulings previously handed down by the ICJ in the related South Africa case accusing Israel of genocide, reiterating that the court notes “the military operation conducted by Israel following Oct. 7 has resulted in ‘a large number of deaths and injuries as well as the mass destruction of homes and … extensive damage to civilian infrastructure.’”

Court president Nawaf Salam (C) arrives on the first day of a two-day hearing in the case that Mexico has filed against Ecuador, at the International Justice court in the Hague, on April 29, 2024. (Credit: Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP)

The court remains “concerned about the catastrophic living conditions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in particular, in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and necessities to which they are being subjected,” Salam told the session, attended by Germany and Nicaragua’s legal teams.

The ruling pertained specifically to Nicaragua’s request for emergency measures to be ordered against Germany, that it should halt its arms sales to Israel and renew funding to UNRWA while the case, which could take months or even years, proceeds. Germany requested for the case to be thrown out entirely, which the ICJ did not do.

The sole vote in favor of provisional measures was ad-hoc Judge Mohsen Aghahosseini from Iran.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s arms transfer database, 68 percent of Israel’s weapons imports from 2013 to 2022 came from the US and 28 percent came from Germany.

On Nov. 8, 2023, AFP reported that Germany had approved 10 times more in military gear exports to Israel in 2023 than it had the previous year. Data up until Nov. 2, 2023 showed that Germany had approved €303 million ($324 million) worth of military equipment sales to Israel, compared to €32 million from the year previous.

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Germany is also facing a domestic lawsuit, in which four human rights groups representing five named Palestinians in Gaza who testify they are suffering under collective punishment from Israel, have taken legal action against the German Ministry of Economic Affairs, responsible for issuing export licenses.

In early April, DW reported that Berlin-based lawyers had filed an “urgent appeal” against the German government to cease sending weapons to Israel as they are “being used to commit grave violations of international law, such as the crime of genocide and war crimes."